Disclaimer: I don’t own FFX and its characters, never will no matter how much I want to! *sniffles* Is that good enough?

 

// - Thoughts, **- Emphasized, k?

 

Ice and Fire: A Rikku and Auron Blanker Scenario

 

          “I-I-It’s s-s-s-so cold! Can’t we stop?” Rikku asked, her teeth chattering, more to herself than the red cloaked guardian in front of her. He didn’t respond, which wasn’t a big surprise to her either. Somehow, they had gotten separated from the others and were trudging through what seemed like the worst blizzard Rikku had ever seen, not to mention her clothing, which was totally unsuited for the weather. She was used to the desert, not the tundra! /I hate thunder! I hate lightening! I hate blizzards! I hate people who ignore me and wear depressing colors and are legendary guardians!/  Rikku thought angrily, and then glanced up at the person she was cursing at. Why *did* he have to wear red? Not that it was depressing… it just had that…that ‘air’ of being depressed, if that made sense. Something along those lines. /Why couldn’t he wear bright, cheerful colors? Like orange or yellow or green or even…/ Rikku giggled and inwardly exclaimed, /Pink!/ Rikku mused over the guardian in pink. Maybe even with a matching bow.

          “No time to waste, let’s move.” Auron stated simply, seeing that Rikku had fallen behind in her musings, and Rikku pouted, wondering how anyone could be so cold. /Meanie!/ Rikku mentally shouted to his back, but bit it back, not wanting to seem so childish to the older guardian. After all, if she wanted to be like Lulu, she had to be strong, and not complain about anything, just face it with courage. At the thought, Rikku straightened, trying not to chatter her teeth. She’d show him! Rikku forced herself to straighten, and what body heat she had left immediately left.  She clenched her jaw painfully shut to keep her teeth from chattering. She began to rub her arms vigorously, but the movement was futile. /Cold! Cold! Tysh it’s cold!/ Rikku cried mentally, feeling her legs go numb. /Oooh, no good! Hey Auron! I lost feeling in my legs! / Rikku stopped herself from shouting, scolding herself. /You gotta be strong! How else are you going to be mature like Lulu or strong like Yuna? / Rikku said, her lips tugging into a frown.  /I’m not cold! I’m not cold at all! / Rikku cried mentally, though the thought didn’t help at all. At least whining to Auron had taken her mind off of the cold. /Dumb legendary guardian!  Getting young Al Bhed like me lost! / Rikku thought, shivering, now unable to stop her blue lips from chattering. /It would be so nice to fall asleep right now in a nice comfy bed…hmm…warm and soft…/ Rikku thought, blacking out before she hit the snow.

 

          /I should have noticed when she had stopped her insistent whining!/ Auron scolded himself, feeling a heavy weight in his chest. Was it guilt? Auron’s bronze eye scanned the snow blanketed ground, sighing. There was no shelter anywhere in his line of vision, and Rikku was ice cold to the touch. With a sigh, he began trudging through the blizzard, trying to shield the practically frozen girl from the frigid winds. /Why does she have to wear such meager clothing? Doesn’t she know that’s begging for the frost to get her?/ Auron wondered, exasperated, liking to think it was her fault for being ignorant, but couldn’t. Somehow it felt like it was mostly *his* fault. A black spec began to appear on the horizon, and as Auron got closer, it took a shape. Not as a rock or marker of the fallen, but a…a… Auron squinted his eye, trying to make out the dim shape. A house! If he had still been a Yevonite, he would have exclaimed, ‘Praise be to Yevon!’. Then his mind filled with suspicion. What was a house doing in the middle of Mount Gazaget? As far as he knew, the Ronso lived on the cliffs, not in the middle. He still couldn’t shake off his suspicion but Rikku did need help, and he would never forgive himself if he left her freeze to death. It would be a horrible crime to let one so young die this way when he could help her. With a sigh, Auron shifted Rikku’s weight to his right arm to knock on the door, standing patiently. After then minutes of waiting patiently and knocking, it became apparent that these people in the house were deaf, or there was no one. Auron presumed the latter, seeing how the house was in dire need of a new coat of paint and wood. Half of it seemed rotted. Still, he cautiously opened the door, eye examining the room quickly, and he was relieved to find no fiends. This place would have to do, he supposed, even if it was just as cold as outside was. It was a small one room cabin, the wooden floor looking sturdier than the outside, the place fairly neat for all of its uncared for years. Auron gently set down Rikku, tucking his cloak securely around her, trying hard to concentrate. It was very disarming to see such a young girl from a misunderstood race to be so cheerful and trusting. She was unique, he supposed. Like Yuna, so accepting. /That’s one of the traits they share./ Auron thought ruefully, and then snapped to himself. /Your mind is straying old man! She’s still breathing yes, but her pulse is incredibly weak!/  Auron scanned the room again, looking for anything that could warm the shivering girl or start a fire to warm the place. His search only produced a thin wool blanket, certainly not enough to keep him *and* Rikku warm. After all, it was chilly in that room, and he didn’t want them *both* to freeze to death. With a small sigh, Auron plopped down next to Rikku, watching her breath slowly, her chest rising and falling beneath his heavy red cloak. She was ‘cute’ he supposed, like Yuna had called it. He snapped his head away, noticing that he had been looking, and frowned slightly. Why was he even thinking about her? Yes, she was almost frozen, but she would live now. He was worried about Yuna and Tidus, but it paled in comparison on how worried he was for Rikku. When he reached slowly and gently touched her cheek, he frowned when it was still ice cold. What had Braska said about these situations? /‘Body heat is more effective than blankets or cloaks.’/ He mentally heard Braska say, or something to that caliber. He looked back at Rikku and inwardly groaned. He had never been *that* close to a woman before, but then again, a girl was never practically frozen in front of him either… /You think too much old man! Just get this over with!/ With a muffled sigh, Auron began to lift his leather vest.

 

           /Hmmm…nice and warm…. Am I in a bed? No, it’s too hard to be in Rin’s shop. Home? No, tysh Guado and Yevon happy people destroyed it. What’s the last thing I remember? Hm…lots of snow, grumpy Auron, cold, cold, cold! Oh yea! I think I froze to death. Wait, then why am I warm? Man! I don’t want to be dead yet! Dumb Auron! Legendary guardian my butt! Can’t even save me! Oh, hold on. Someone’s moving next to me. What if it’s my big brother? Eww! I outgrew my nightmare stage a long time ago! He doesn’t have to comfort me. But, my brother isn’t so muscular. Hey! Who is this? Ugh! Rikku stop talking to yourself and see already!/ A swirled jade colored eye opened, taking in her surroundings cautiously. /I’m in a cabin, a blanket is around me and…/ Rikku shifted slightly to come face to face with a sleeping Auron. /Rumo cred! It’s Auron!/ Sure enough, the legendary guardian was fast asleep, his eye closed, with a peaceful expression on his face. /Pinch yourself Rikku! You must be dreaming!/ Giving herself the hardest pinch she could muster, it turned out not to be a dream. /But why would I wake up next to Auron? Last thing I remember was the cold…/ Rikku looked around, trying to see if anything would explain what had happened. The first thing she saw was her and Auron’s discarded clothing, and it was only then she realized she was only in her… undergarments.

          “*PERVERT*!” Rikku shrieked, sending a fist towards Auron’s cheek, but luckily, the guardian had awakened just in the nick of time to catch her fist from pummeling his already scarred face.

          “Excuse me?” Auron asked coldly, not sure of what else to say to the obviously flustered and furious girl sitting right next to him. She looked more ‘cute’ sleeping.

          “You perv! You sick little-“ Rikku shut up when Auron seemed to ignore her, working the kinks out of his neck. “Hey! Are you even listening?” Rikku demanded angrily, and Auron stretched slightly, beginning to work out the stiffness in his back. “Hey you! Listen to people when they talk to you!” Rikku snapped, and Auron finally faced her, his bronze eye piercing, seeming like he could see right through her.

          “You shouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly.” Auron stated simply, deciding he wouldn’t argue with her. It would only serve to give him a headache, and he didn’t need that now. He should find Yuna and the others quickly, or he might fail Braska in protecting his beloved daughter. This comment seemed to make Rikku even more flustered.

          “What other conclusion can I draw from this? I wake up next to you and we’re both practically *naked*!” Rikku shrieked, obviously embarrassed an angry. That girl wore her emotions for everyone to see so freely. Auron wondered what would happen if he were like that, young and naïve, thinking that you could change the world at your every desire. If only things were truly like that.

          “You collapsed in the snow, almost frozen solid. Why didn’t you tell me you were about to freeze to death?” Auron asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice, and Rikku gaped at him, stuttering, trying to think of something to throw back at him. “I brought you back here to try and warm you up, and for your information, body heat works better than any blanket or material.” Auron said firmly, and suddenly Rikku burst out laughing. Auron raised an eyebrow, not sure of what to say. Did the cold get to her this badly?

          “Y-Y-You sound like my brother! Always lecturing me on how to survive these kinda things! Oh *god*! You two are like twins sometimes!” Rikku howled, clutching her stomach as she rolled over. Truth be told, she didn’t really know why she was laughing. Maybe because Auron, somewhere in the depths of that unfeeling shell, had some compassion for people? Oh god! How hilarious! Tears began streaming down her face as her stomach began to ache. No doubt that Auron would think she was crazy now! To her surprise, Auron scooped her up and held her till she had composed herself. To be perfectly honest, it was nice having two pairs of strong arms wrap themselves around you, and Rikku was enjoying the moment. To think that the cold, unfeeling Auron trying to calm *her* down. The annoying Al Bhed he always fought with. The thought almost sent her into another laughing fit, but she resisted, instead, looking up at Auron curiously. “I guess I should thank you now, huh?” Rikku asked, her face turning red as Auron gazed at her intently. Was there something on her face?

          “It would only be proper.” Auron said gruffly, trying to figure the young Al Bhed out. She was hysterical a moment ago, and just as quickly she turns sober? What’s with this child?

          “Okay. Um…thanks Auron for saving me.” Rikku said, grinning brightly at the older guardian, who gave a small smile in return, hoping she wouldn’t notice. Her cheer was contagious it seemed. Unfortunately, Rikku noticed and her grin turned into a big smile. “Oh! I saw that! Don’t try and hide it from me! I can sense when people are smiling!” Rikku stated happily, leaning in a bit so she could see Auron’s face as he tried to turn away. “You look nice when you smile Auron, you should do that more often.” Rikku said quietly, settling herself back down by Auron, leaning against his shoulder. Maybe there was some hope for the supposedly cold, unfeeling guardian. With a soft, content sigh, Rikku fell back into a blissful slumber, Auron staring at her with a soft smile on his face. /I suppose this is the part where I thank you for helping me smile, right?/ Auron asked the peacefully sleeping Rikku silently, and he could almost hear the giddy, ‘uh huh!’./ I thank you Rikku, for getting me to smile again. I haven’t done that in too long./ Auron thought, he too, closing his eyes and joining the young Al Bhed in sleep, the small smile still curving his lips.     

 

          ~*Author’s Notes*~ Oh! The first blanket scenario I’ve ever done, and the first FFX fic too! Can’t beat that! Anyway, I thought it was kinda cute for Auron and Rikku to get stuck in a cabin together. Aww, my two favorite characters interacting. Oh! And I hope they weren’t *too* OOC for you. Sorry about the crappy title. Hey! It was 1 AM in the morning and I couldn’t see the screen straight. Not that I can do that when I’m fully awake, mind you. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Well, please R and R! I’d be so happy if you did! Until next time, bye bye! ~*Fudgie Angel*~